The Journal of Antique Archaeology & Mike Wolfe

Kid Pickers Meet American Pickers in LeClaire, Iowa

A Beautiful Day of Kid Pickers Buying & Selling in LeClaire

Kid Pickers Flea Market With the American Pickers

It was a beautiful day on the Mississippi River in historic LeClaire, Iowa. The morning started foggy, but the rain stayed at bay, bringing a warm & sunny afternoon. Our Antique Archaeology Kid Picker Flea Market vendors couldn’t have done a better job. Armed with knowledge of their finds and ready to wheel and deal, our Kid Pickers were ready to show off their picks and make a buck like old pros. They may have even taught the American Pickers a thing or two!

Knowledgeable about more than just the picks they brought to sell, these Kid Pickers were well versed in booth set up and marketing too. From their own business names, to signage, to displaying their items for best exposure to passersby, these vendors really knew what they were doing.

From cans & bottles to hats, toys & typewriters, there was a little something for every shopper. These Kid Pickers seem to be following one Mike Wolfe’s first rules of picking – Pick what you LOVE! It was apparent by their the smiles while showing off their goods to shoppers, passersby and even to the American Pickers themselves!

Knowing that all work and no play makes kid pickers dull girls and boys, there was plenty of fun to be had for our hard working young vendors. Danielle Colby, American Picker, took a few spins around the courtyard while dancing to Driftless Sisters, and American Pickers Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz joined Danielle in visiting all the booths to pick a thing or two. The kids were able to complete their day on the levee in historic LeClaire by spending some time on the Mississippi River thanks to Riverboat Twilight who generously took our kid pickers aboard for a tour on the river. All in all, Antique Archaeology’s Kid Picker Flea Market was a huge success! As Mike says, “You can’t live forever, but you can make something that will.” We hope to keep generations of Pickers for years to come – start ’em young!

22 thoughts on “Kid Pickers Meet American Pickers in LeClaire, Iowa”

This was awesome! Great job ladies and gentleman! I enjoy your show immensely and learn so much about different things.
Thank you for doing this for the kids and giving them confidence in their abilities to do what they love.
Have a blessed day!
Sincerely,
Tamie Hopper
owner Hopper’s Attic
(online only business at this time)

I love the idea of getting kids involved,
My grandma had me at flea markets & thrift stores from the time i could walk…Rock On Kids
I would love to buy that hat that was shown in the photo, $10.00?? Sitting on the typewriter.
Please advise as to what to do next to get it???
Keep On Picking
Marcella Criscione
a fan from New Jersey

Thanks to your show on “Kid Pickers Day”, we are setting things in motion for one of our own in 2017. This would be a fun day, like yours, of entertainment for all, Food sales, and hopefully tons of kids setting up with their wares for sale. I think that it is a great idea and might get some kids started as young entrepreneurs in their own right. Maybe some parents would even join our club too! Any suggestions for us? Booth spaces would be free of charge. If you might be in the area next year we’d love to have you stop by for publicity photos. Maybe it will be in June, since we already have big events for our club in July and August.

We’re so excited that you’d like to start a Kid Picker’s Day in your town! We had such a great time at our event and the pay off was seeing how excited all of the kids were (and we had an absolute ball looking through all of their treasures). Not sure how you are setting it up but we applied for free usage of our town’s public riverfront area—since we were not collecting any profits from the event, it was filed as a non-profit and fees were waived. We created an online application process for the kids through http://www.wufoo.com but we had to be more careful in this area since it was televised—you may be able to skip that process all together and just make it more of an “open enrollment.” Each child got an 8ft x 8ft area and were free to set it up however they’d like—we encouraged them to make signs, bring business cards, & get creative! Our event was from 10am-4pm and it was a bit too long (especially in the summer heat). We’d recommend keeping it 3-4 hours long. We also had the local girl scouts and boy scouts provide food and refreshments. That’s all of the “larger” details that we can think of but if you have any other questions—please feel free to email Emily at EmilyAntiqueArchaeology@gmail.com. Thank you so much for starting this in your community, and we hope it’s a great success!

So glad that you are encouraging the young to collect and learn about history. It will help to preserve future generations. My granddaughter was a vendor at Blue Suede Shoes Antique Mall for several years until she got involved and devoted to Fastpitch Softball. She learned bargaining skills and saved all her money for college. I admired a clothespin holder when we were working together one day. The vendor wanted $5. for it. I hesitated, then decided I wanted it. My granddaughter beat me to the punch, got it and paid for it. Me, thinking she bought it for me told her how sweet she was for buying that for me. She said “oh no Mawmaw you don’t understand, if you want it it will cost you $10. LOL (oh yes I bought it and still have it)

Hoping that you are able to have the “Kids Flea Market” again. My daughter (she is 10) loves the show, loves going to Flea Markets/rummage sales/antiquing with me. She helps her mom run a food stand at a flea market near Detroit Lakes, Mn. She is hoping to be able to come down there with me this summer and set up her own booth.
Keep us informed please?
Thanks and we LOVE the show!!
Bruce and Maddie
Fargo

Hey there, Bruce and Maddie! We are not having a Kid Pickers Flea Market this year, but encourage folks to set one up in their neighborhood. We look forward to pictures and stories from your littler picker! Please come see us soon!

Hello I’ve been a Barber for around 27yrs now. In that time I talk and enjoy the stories. Throughout my history standing behind the chair different people would talk about a motorcycle at the bottom of Spotford Lake. Story is during ice fishing season someone rode a 1945 is Harley out on the ice and fell through.
I’ve been told it rest upright and one of the divers had sat on it. The bike it’s self is the military version from what I’ve been told. I know how the guys love motorcycle and may appreciate hearing this.

Oh man, my face hurts from smiling, laughing & kinda crying all at once. As an event planner by trade I can say you all did a fantastic job.
We want to be at the next one for sure. ROAD TRIP!!!! Emily & Dani, check out our website and see if our donated services would be of interest to you. It would be fun. We have been wanting to come visit anyway. We have always enjoyed the work of the camera guys & editors on the show. Your most devoted Colorado fans!!!

OMG! I live in Belgium and that was part of last saturday’s episodes ! I didn’t know it was from 2016! I love your show, it’s on the french History channel here, l never miss one when l’m at home, fantastic finds and a great way of learning American History ! Keep on the good job, ya’ll, and if you ever come back to Europe, you should visit my country, there’s a lot to find, about WWII (Battle of the Bulge) for example, and as my son says, you have to taste our Special Beers, you’ll want to import them for sure .